Another Kind of Goal
by Aqua Lion
Summary: (Sequel to Second Time Around) The Warriors don't approve of their goalie's girlfriend. Adam and Rat don't approve of the Warriors. Things could get messy.
1. Operation Ishtar

**Another Kind of Goal**   
Chapter 1: Operation Ishtar 

_A/N- It's taken me forever to come up with a title, even a bad one, other than that this has been sitting completed on my computer since before Second Time Around was finished. -_-' Picks up right where STA left off. Rat and Jay are from aforementioned prequel. Ducks belong to Disney. Rat's POV_

***** 

"Hey! Rodent!" 

I'm startled at the voice, startled even though I was somewhat expecting it. "Whatcha want, Mallard? And make it quick. I don't have too much time to waste with quacks like you." 

Adam laughs, and drops onto the grass next to me. "Mallard? Nice, but I don't believe we're associated with any particular species. So how goes the campaign?" 

"Operation Ishtar is in full effect." 

"Operation what?" 

"Ishtar! Y'know, goddess of love and war...?" He gives me a _look_, and I shut up. I guess the hint is that next time I make up operation names, I should check with the others doing the operating. 

It's a very simple concept. Varsity has been pounding on their loyal (...somewhat) goalie quite a bit lately. Most of this is because of his romantic involvement with a certain feline Duck. People who mess with other people's love lives when they aren't invited really piss me off. Adam agrees. 

Between the two of us, we can enlist the help of two soccer teams and a hockey team to go about waging war on Varsity hockey. Thus the evil plot we... er... I call Operation Ishtar. 

Yes, I'm quite odd. 

"Hockey season's over," he points out. "Just how are you guys pulling this off? And when do we get to help?" 

"We've got our ways," I mutter vaguely. The fact is, we haven't exactly done anything yet... but he doesn't need to know that. We're waiting for next weekend, when the soccer season ends. At least then we can't get suspended for any games. "And as soon as you're ready to help us out, we'll take it." 

He nods, and for a few minutes we just sit there watching the Warriors practice. And suddenly I catch sight of the lovebirds themselves. "Cat! Scooter!" 

"Yell it loud enough for the whole campus to hear, why don't you," Adam mutters. I take a deep breath and prepare to do just that, but he slaps a hand over my mouth. "You're hopeless." 

"I pride myself on my hopelessness." 

Scooter and Cat walk over, and I cringe when I see the Varsity goalie's face. His teammates have been pounding him again. "Scooter, shouldn't you tell someone about this?" 

"Coach has already told them off. Frequently. It doesn't really hurt much, really, I just look like hell. You didn't call me over here to discuss hockey politics, did you?" 

I'm not sure why I called them over, now that I think about it. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Luckily, Adam makes a smooth recovery. "Actually we were wondering if you guys can still make it to the study group tomorrow." 

Right... the study group. For the big algebra test that all the freshmen are having this Friday, which Scooter's volunteered to help us study for. This particular session's really a surprise birthday party for the Cat (who said she didn't mind studying on her birthday, which is just _wrong_), but for obvious reasons she doesn't know that yet. 

"We'll be there," Scooter assures us. 

***** 

Linda's actually in our room when I get back at 7, which is really odd. Most nights she's out until at least 9... I believe Monday is when she and a bunch of other prep girls I'm not too fond of go out shopping. 

"Shopping spree get cancelled?" 

"Coach Anderson's been looking for you," she answers, blatantly ignoring my question. I don't mind too much though, not after I hear the news. Coach Anderson is the Warrior soccer coach, what's he want with me? I go back the way I came. 

"Miss Griffian," he greets me, and I barely resist getting upset. Miss Griffian. Right. "As you know, the grade check for this weekend's game was today." 

"Yeah..." 

"You've improved yourself to a C average." What!? Is he kidding? I just failed a math test last Friday... maybe there are some merits to homework, after all. "So we're placing you back on the Warriors, effective immediately. We don't have a practice tomorrow," Doesn't he think I know that? The Inferno practices on Tuesdays, "but drop by sometime after four to get your uniform." 

"I... I'll do that," I stammer, and hurry out. 

***** 

Oddly, Cat doesn't seem at all surprised at her surprise party. I guess she's too smart to believe we'd all forgotten her birthday. 

She nearly cracks up when she sees my present. It's a white T-shirt with a very cranky-looking cat on it, and written above it is "What part of MEOW don't you understand?" She immediately yanks it on over the shirt she's already wearing. 

Scooter's present beats everyone's out, of course. It's a _ring_. He's quick to protest when we ask him when the wedding is, "It's not an engagement ring!" But we know it's only a matter of time. And he knows we know it. 

After the party, in which no math textbooks were allowed, Adam and I wander over to the soccer field. The Inferno is practicing, and it hits me that I never got around to telling anyone I've switched teams. Hey, rats have small brains! It's not my fault! 

Before Adam gets a chance to ask me why I'm not practicing, Jeff Denton and Darryl Ritter pounce on me. Jeff is the Inferno's backup (well not anymore) sweeper and Darryl is the captain, and they both look profoundly pissed. "Rat, what's this about you getting switched to the Warriors?" Jeff demands. 

"There's _one game_ left in the season!" Darryl agrees. 

Adam blinks. "You got on the Warriors?" 

Oh, this is lovely, just lovely. I think I'm starting to get a headache... the rest of the Inferno gathers around too. I don't like being the center of attention, and they know it, so I guess they really ARE ticked... 

"Lay off, I just found out about it last night, and Coach Anderson didn't exactly give me any opportunity to protest." They glare. "Besides, your only other game's against the Tangerines and everyone knows they suck, you won't need me." 

This seems to satisfy them somewhat, and they go back to practicing. Except for Ian 'Fox' Alberti, the backup striker. We call him Fox for a reason, he's the trickiest little creep you could ever hope _not_ to meet. Yes, I do mean creep. Nobody on the team exactly _likes_ him, but he's brilliant at coming up with ideas for prank wars. 

He gets right to the point. "Is the anti-Varsity hockey campaign still go?" 

"Yeah..." 

"Hang around. I've got some ideas." 

***** 

Fox's 'ideas' were all brilliant, of course. The soccer teams are sticking to their neutrality until the season ends but the Ducks have no such restraint—they're executing the first strike of Operation Ishtar right now. 

While I get to sit here in my new Warrior jersey _studying_. 

With _Linda_. 

Well Linda's not studying, actually, she's reading some sappy romance novel that would probably make me hurl by page 2. It's enough to make me glad I'm reading a math book, and that's more disturbing than I care to think about. 

She squeals, and I know she's gotten to the sappiness of all sappiness. If she didn't make so much NOISE while she reads it wouldn't bother me, but she's keeping me from concentrating on polynomials and if she makes another sound I'm going to throw something at her. And the only thing available to throw is a 1000-page textbook. 

Somebody pounds on the door. 

"Griffian, get that," Linda orders. Charlie got her to call me Rat, once upon a time, but she's reverted to Griffian now. 

I glare, and just barely refrain from flinging Algebra You Can Use in her face. 

The pounding starts up again. "I'm coming! Cool your jets." I expect it's Jay, he does drop by often. And at strange hours. "We really need to work on your impatience prob—" I shut up as I yank the door open and come face to face with Scooter. 

And he's a _mess_. 


	2. Flying With the Ducks

**Another Kind of Goal**   
Chapter 2: Flying With the Ducks 

_A/N- Hmm... this story has been begging to be worked on, seeing as I've neglected it for the last several months. What can I say, I'm lazy. -_-' Did BSB and Nsync exist when D3 came out? If not, oh well, LOL. Scooter's POV_

***** 

When I wake up, it takes me a bit to remember why I'm not in my room. And why I'm asleep on the floor. I try to sit up—bad idea. "Owwwwww." 

"Masochistic much?" Rat is already awake, I assume Linda is too as she's nowhere in sight. "Stay there, at least for a bit. You're in bad shape." 

I nod weakly, and pain shoots through my head. Okay, no moving at all. "So what happened?" 

"You mean after I yanked you in here and you passed out?" I nod again, but it hurts a little less this time. That's a good sign. I think. I don't even get annoyed at the reminder that I fainted the second I got here. "Well, Riley and Cole showed up, they started hollering at me because I wouldn't let them come in and pound you more, I slammed the door in their faces, and Cole punched it. I believe they both have detention for a week for trying to break into a girls' dorm, and Cole's hand is broken." She shrugs and I laugh, even though I know it's bad team spirit. 

Team spirit? Did I just dare to mention team spirit, at _Eden Hall?_ Maybe they hit me in the head harder than I thought. 

"So what brought on the slaughter?" 

"They were on a Duck hunt and decided I was close enough." 

She winces. "Um... dare I ask what happened?" 

"They broke into Cole's room and replaced all of his CDs with Backstreet Boys and Nsync ones..." I pause, seeing she looks more amused than surprised. "But you already knew that, you were behind it all." 

"Fox was. I just knew about it." 

Fox? Who's Fox? I assume one of her soccer teammates and let that question slide. Cat, Rat, Fox... what is it with athletes and three-letter animals? "Well tell Fox it was a brilliant plan, but how did he know that Cole was going to be having a party last night?" I pause to keep from laughing, remembering the look on everyone's faces when he just wandered over to his stereo, hit play, and started blasting boy band music to the whole team. "Or was that part just lucky timing?" 

From the expression on her face I can tell it was just luck. "Nothing I knew about... then again, the Ducks are good spies, they might've found out somehow." 

I nod, and pass out again. 

***** 

Sometimes Julie really amazes me. 

Wait, that's often. Sometimes Julie just shocks the hell out of me. 

"You okay, Scooter?" She shoots me a concerned look, and I try to grin back. "If you don't want to, I understand, I just thought you might—" 

"Want to?" I ask weakly. "When do I move in?" 

It seems that after last night's mess, Rat decided enough was enough. She and the Ducks got together to brainstorm at least a partial solution to my problems with Riley and Cole. The obvious one? Get me out of Riley's room. 

Conveniently, one Jesse Hall doesn't have a roommate. 

I will admit Julie's sprung it a bit abruptly. She just wandered in to the campus medical area (they weren't about to let me stay with Linda and Rat, after all), said the usual hi how are you, and gave a graphic description of what'll happen when she gets at Cole. The out of nowhere she came up with, "How would you like to switch rooms? Jesse doesn't have a roommate and he's willing to share." 

Yeah. Forgive me for being a bit dazed. 

Especially as I know how much Jesse likes outsiders. Maybe he doesn't consider me an outsider? I _am_ on the side of the angels as far as most of the Ducks are concerned, after all. But still, I'm flattered, and I doubt there's any harm in that. 

She laughs at me. "We've discussed it with the Dean already, he said if you're sure you're okay with it, it's fine with him, you can switch as soon as possible. Rat says she doesn't think he even listened to her explaining the situation." 

"Typical." She nods her agreement. "But I have to go back there and pack, and Riley's gonna be even more pissed off at me than usual. How're we planning to get by that?" 

"It's taken care of," she assures me. 

I can't get any more out of her on that subject, so I give up trying. Curiosity gets you killed by the Cat. 

***** 

Something tells me that when these Ducks get out of high school, they're all going to go into the army and join a special operations unit. They're that good. (Or they'll all be in jail before they're 20. They're that evil.) Apparently, my 'defecting' to Jesse's room is giving them a way to carry out phase 2 of their latest plan against the Varsity. I might've known switching CDs wouldn't be good enough for them. 

Which is why I'm being escorted by Charlie and Adam, dressed in all black and armed with squirtguns. (In the middle of the winter. This should be interesting.) Goldberg is tagging along behind us, dragging a black backpack. I don't know what's in it, nor do I want to. 

I suspect I'll learn anyway. 

When we get to the dorm, we stop for a minute and Charlie pulls out a radio. "Is it clear?" 

"Clear as crystal," Rat's voice confirms. From what I've been able to pick up, Jay—as Varsity has yet to realize he's on the side of the devil—is going to attempt to distract Riley by posing as a fan. Wish I could watch. What Riley really _needs_ is someone inflating his ego, but this should be worth it. 

Averman, Ken, and Russ are already inside, all of them carrying backpacks. Charlie nods to them and they start off down the hallway. 

When we get to the door, Averman digs around in his backpack and comes up with a roll of duct tape, a pack of thumbtacks, and various pictures of boybands. They really seem to love that theme. This time around, anyway. 

Charlie takes up a guard position by the door, while Adam leaves his squirtgun outside and comes in. Ken glances at me. "So, what's safe to decorate?" 

I point them to Riley's dresser. "Anything in the closet's his, too. And be sure you get the walls." 

Russ slaps me on the back. "You're gettin' the hang of this, man." 

***** 

It takes me about fifteen minutes to get completely packed up and ready to go. By that time, the sabotage team is more or less finished. There's toothpaste in all of Riley's socks, pink paint dumped all over his clothes, and the walls are covered in boyband posters (which are, naturally, duct taped up). I think they put thumbtacks in his bed, but I was carefully not paying attention when they did that part. Matter of fact, I was carefully not paying attention to a lot of it... 

They've offered to help me carry my bags—undoubtedly they're just looking for an excuse if they get caught, but hey, how can I refuse? We watch Russ smear glue and feathers all over the bathroom mirror, then everyone grabs a bag and we're _gone_. 


	3. Complications

**Another Kind of Goal**   
Chapter 3: Complications 

_A/N- Hehe, now that everyone's FORGOTTEN about this story I can update again... okay, so I admit it... when I wrote Second Time Around I had no clue when high school hockey season starts, ends, or anything else, and assuming it's the same in Minnesota as at my school, I was completely and totally wrong. -_-' Bad Aqua, I know. Anyway, since I don't feel like rewriting half of Second Time Around, let's just say Eden Hall's hockey season ends in the middle of December and Thanksgiving was… ignored. *looks sheepish* Oh well… nobody's perfect -_-' But soccer season being so long was intentional creative license, for reasons to be determined in this chapter. ^_^ Adam's POV_

***** 

_One more week until Christmas break._

_One more week until Christmas break._

_One more week until—_

"Wake up!" Ken elbows me in the stomach. 

I stop reciting my latest live-through-biology mantra and look up at Mrs. Madigan. Thankfully, she hasn't noticed that I'm staring off into space rather than at the chalkboard. "I am awake. More or less." 

"I don't think she'll take more or less if she catches you." 

He's probably right, so I decide not to go back to my mental chanting. But I do _not_ want to actually listen to her droning on and on about opposable thumbs, and how humans are unique because we have them but other animals have them too. (That's all I got out of the first 10 minutes of this lecture.) Instead, I look down at my notebook, which I am ostensibly taking notes in. 

There's one line at the top. "Humans are unique because we have opposable thumbs, just like other advanced primates." The rest of the page is dominated by a picture of several ducks decorating a Christmas tree. I hadn't even realized I was drawing. Ken glances at it and snickers. 

I flip to the next page. For some reason, Mrs. Madigan thinks this deserves a glare. See, she doesn't even want us to take good notes! I give her my best innocent look and she goes back to talking about how great thumbs are. Y'know, I think we all get the point by now. 

Well, except Russ, who's sleeping soundly in the front row. But she's pretty well given up yelling at him during class. Another day, another detention. Such is life. 

Rather than take notes, I glance over at Ken's notebook. I swear he doesn't have to pay attention at all, he just files away the lectures in his head, to be retrieved at a later date... I don't know why I expected him to actually have notes. 

_Deck the halls with hockey pucks,_

_Quack quack quack quack quack, quack quack quack quack._

_'Tis the season to be Ducks,_

_Quack quack quack quack quack, quack quack quack quack._

_Don we now our pads and skates,_

_Quack quack quack, quack quack quack, quack quack quack..._

I wonder if I dare ask what he's writing this for. 

***** 

Rat's last game is tonight. Personally, if I played soccer, I'd shoot or otherwise mortally wound anyone who expected me to be outside playing in the middle of December, even if this winter _has_ been unusually warm so far. On the other hand, Rat insists the soccer players all love it. Something about how if it snows, they get to play inside. 

It hasn't snowed, which means that I will be camping out on the bleachers in 35-degree weather to watch the Warriors whip or be whipped by none other than the Blake Bears. Julie is coming too, and Scooter mentioned that he might show up. I can only think of one reason that he'd say _might_ when he knows Julie will be there. 

Though I've never noticed Varsity at soccer games before... 

I make it a point to get there early. The Warriors are out practicing, but they all look steamed, but there's an underlying nervousness to their movements. I don't see Rat anywhere. 

"Adam!" Jay bolts over as soon as he sees me. Immediately I know I should be worried. He, like the rest of the universe, hardly ever calls me Adam. "Have you heard?" 

I get a very sick feeling in my stomach, very much like someone just punched me. I don't want to hear. It's about Rat. It must be about Rat. Maybe they just put her back on the Inferno? No, Jay looks too upset. "What happened?" 

He takes a deep breath. "Cole and Riley happened." 

Oh God. "Rat?" 

"Yeah." He shakes his head in disgust. "It's pretty bad..." 

***** 

On the way to the medical ward—haven't I been there enough this year already?—I run into Charlie. Literally. He was turned around waving to Linda, I was turned around talking to Jay (who was paying attention to me, rather than what was in front of us), and we were all running. Crash. 

So now there's blood dripping down the side of my face from bashing it on the asphalt. Maybe it's a good thing we were headed over to the doctor anyway, but Charlie and Jay are quick to assure me it's not much of a cut. "Sorry," we all announce at the same time. 

Charlie laughs sheepishly. "What's the rush?" 

"Noth—" I snap my mouth shut. Charlie and I still aren't as close as before this year, but I'd say we're long past the point where everything he asks me gets a reflex 'no' answer. But between me spending time with Rat and Company and him spending time with Linda, we don't see each other enough for me to have quite broken the habit. "Okay, something. Riley plus Cole plus Rat equals—" 

"Bad," he finishes. I was going to say roadkill rat, but I guess that was a bit tasteless anyway. "But I'd love to know how those goons are doing..." 

We both look at Jay. I didn't even think of asking him about _that_. "She fought back, didn't she?" 

"She hasn't been awake when I've gone to see her so I haven't gotten any details yet. I'm sure we'll hear it if she's awake now though, Rat likes telling war stories." 

Charlie opts out of accompanying us. Something about how he didn't want to be intruding on anything, but that's a bit weird, because Jay's the one who asked him. It could just be because he's not as close to her. 

Or it could be because he caught that 'nothing' I didn't cut off in time. Not unusual. He'll take it as a slight, sulk for a few days, and everything'll be good again. Happens all the time. 

No worries. 

***** 

Rat looks like she's still asleep when we walk into her room, _looks_ being the key word. We've hardly taken three steps towards the bed when she looks up and grins. "Heya, strangers." Her voice is a bit dazed, and there's a huge bruise running up the left side of her face. 

I try to grin. "Not as strange as you..." 

"I'm so glad you said that," she declares, staring at the ceiling. "I'd have to beat you up if you thought you were stranger than me, and I'm in no shape to be beating people up just now. Too many things broken." She winces, then goes back to grinning. "Though I think I got the better end of the deal." 

"What happened?" 

"Yeah, really, what happened?" Jay agrees. "Now that you're _awake_..." 

"Rodents need their sleep you know," she shoots back, and returns to staring at the ceiling. "Probably my fault... Riley had to borrow some of Cole's clothes, I guess, cause whatever he was wearing today was _not pink_ and about three sizes too big for him. All I said was nice shirt." She shrugs helplessly. "He got in a pretty good whack before I figured out I'd better start running. And next thing I know the goons are chasing me right out of the building... tried to lose 'em in the parking lot outside the auditorium, couldn't, so I tried going through the gardens." 

"Why didn't you try for a classroom?" Jay inquires. I must admit I've been wondering the same thing myself. 

She gives him a reproachful glare for a moment, then returns her gaze to the ceiling. "Because they're _hockey players_, Jay." 

"Good point." 

"So they're starting to catch up to me, so I run into the botany greenhouse and shut the door because I figure they'll have to open it and I can buy a little time. You know how the doors in there are, right?" 

I've never taken botany and, from Jay's expression, he hasn't either. "No." 

"Solid glass." She tears her eyes off the ceiling and smiles grimly. "I don't think Cole realized I'd shut it... he went right through, and of course he fell down, and Riley ran through the hole and couldn't stop in time and ran right over him." 

Jay and I both crack up. Of course it seems likely that Cole would be severely injured, so it's probably not funny. But if he hadn't been trying to _beat somebody up_ he'd be just fine. He's not going to get any sympathy from _me_. 

"So what'd you do," Jay asks, "stand around watching?" 

"No, I tried to bolt out the back door." She sighs. "There isn't a back door." 

Before she can say anything else the doctor comes in. "Miss Griffian, good, you're awake, we'll need to—" He pauses when he catches sight of Jay and me. "I'm afraid you two will have to leave." 

"Naturally." Jay rolls his eyes. 

***** 

Notice is a bit short for us to call a team meeting, or what we've started referring to as a Council of the Quacks. Sometimes even we wonder if we're _too_ full of Duck enthusiasm... then we decide, no, probably not. 

So Ken, Russ, Jesse, Julie, Scooter, and I all sit in Jesse and Scooter's room, discussing the latest development in our war with Varsity. 

"Is this worth it?" Scooter mutters distractedly. "They beat someone up, so we piss them off some more so they'll beat someone else up?" 

Right. I forgot to mention Scooter is trying to take the blame for Rat's current predicament. (Julie told her this. She got mad and said she was proud to claim the situation as a mess her big mouth got her into.) 

"Hey, man." Jesse gives him a look that's part concern and part disbelief. "If you don't want us to keep this up we won't keep it up, but you ain't really plannin' on spendin' the rest of the year holed up in here cuz they pound ya when you leave, are ya?" 

"Well, no, but—" 

"Then we gotta show the rest of the Varsity cake-eaters that if they mess with you, they're gonna regret it." 

"Mission status so far, _extremely_ unaccomplished," Ken adds. 

Scooter nods, but he still doesn't look convinced. "You guys are really set on this, aren't you?" 

"Well, us winning the state championships and Varsity losing kind of got them off our case, but it's not like we're going to pass up an excuse to go after them... so... yeah, pretty much." I grin, but he doesn't grin back. "It's up to you Scooter. We're just trying to help." 

He looks at Julie, and she nods encouragingly. She could be arguing his side, of course, but she's a Duck. She's already used to the whole fly-or-die-together thing. I think Scooter's still not quite over the fact that a bunch of _Ducks_ are willing to help a _Warrior,_ regardless of how nice that Warrior is. 

I know the feeling. 

Finally, he sighs and nods. "If anyone else gets hurt we call it off?" 

"Fair enough," Jesse agrees. 

"Okay, I give. What're we thinking about for the counterattack?" 

I find it a little strange for us to be talking this way, now that I think about it. Like this is a war or something. ...Wait a minute. This _is_ a war. Never mind. 

Ken cocks his head. "We got together with Fox and Seth." Seth, nearest I can tell, is the Warrior Soccer counterpart of Fox. Ken and Russ got together with those two and nothing blew up? I'm impressed. "The Inferno's hopping mad and the Warriors are even more ticked. Riley and Cole both got two-week-long suspensions—worst punishment a varsity hockey player's had in the last 30 years in this place, by the way—but the soccer teams don't seem to think that's good enough. What do we think?" 

"I think it's not good enough," Russ answers immediately. 

"You don't count. Anyone else?" 

After a few snickers at Russ's wounded expression, Julie speaks up. "I don't think they'll learn their lesson from that." 

"Of course they won't. 'Suspension' for a hockey player means something totally different than 'suspension' for anyone else." Scooter frowns. "This isn't exactly the first time they've been suspended. Rick's dad makes sure they're well taken care of." 

"Well there ya have it." Russ grins. "So, we gotta get a little serious here, and we definitely gotta _not get caught_. You all remember the ants, of course?" 

"YES," Scooter and I answer as one. Everyone else laughs. 

"Well, we found out from some kind sources in the science class that ants ain't the only bugs at this school. We don't wanna make this _too_ serious though." 

Russ stops and Ken takes over. "So Scooter... is anyone on Varsity allergic to bees?" 

We can all see where this is heading. 

Scooter considers this for a moment. I can tell he's spending more time deciding whether he _wants_ to answer the question than actually figuring out the answer. "Nope. Well, nobody except me anyway." 

Grin. "Excellent." 


End file.
